


Laeta Mecum: Side Stories and Snapshots

by Beatsie_Boy



Series: Laeta Mecum [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Time Skips, tags will be added as i post new chapters, time jumps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27135773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beatsie_Boy/pseuds/Beatsie_Boy
Summary: As the title suggests, side stories from my story 'Laeta Mecum'.They'll be one-shots mostly, and as far as I have planned, will be in PoV's other than that of the protagonists (that means, James, Lily, Sirius, Snape etc.). This series is a means for me to show how others in the 'Laeta Mecum' universe see and perceive Harry and Viscenya's relationship. Also, this series will have a lot of UwU moments, you have been warned :)
Relationships: Harry Potter/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Laeta Mecum [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1980713
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. You're a parseltongue Harry

**Author's Note:**

> Hey gang! 
> 
> To all the new readers, who've just discovered this universe, I welcome you to the world that I'm in the process of creating, and something that I hope you enjoy :)   
> To understand this series, you'll have to go through the main story first, but don't worry it's just ten chapters for now (although I'm working on increasing that number, give me some time pwease) 
> 
> And to all the old readers, I'm so sorry if it seems as if I've abandoned the OG story, if it's any consolation, I haven't, nor do I plan on it. 
> 
> It's just that a lot of complicated stuff is happening in my life almost all at once, so it's difficult to get my head out of the water, so while I couldn't complete the next update, I thought that I'd treat you guys with one-shots to act as appetizers :)   
> Hopefully, this works * fingers crossed * 
> 
> anyway, here's the first chapter, bear in mind, Harry and Viscenya are nine in this.

_**Potter Manor** _

_**Summer of 1989** _

* * *

“Hey! Stop, Viscenya _stop!_ ” Harry yelled as he ran after her in the ground of the Potter manor.

She had come over for the afternoon and was probably going to stay for dinner as well. They didn’t really need special permission from her parents. For they too, just assumed that if Viscenya ever went to the Potter’s she’d be there for a good couple of hours. It had been two hours since she had come over, and in those two hours, they had played one on one Quidditch (which she won, obviously) and eaten like pigs.

Despite the heavy exercise, the nine-year-olds were far from tired. So that led Viscenya to start an impromptu game of Tag. Harry wasn’t prepared for the sudden game and that was why he struggled to gain speed over his friend.

“She should’ve _warned_ me first,” Harry said breathlessly to himself as he neared Viscenya.

She was standing a good distance away from him with her arms crossed waiting for Harry to catch up so that she could run off again and make it more of a thrilling chase. Her shoulder-length hair (which had been recently cut from its original length) whipped around her head as the wind blew incessantly, her hair tie must’ve slipped from her hair when she was playing Quidditch, something that she didn’t think much of then, but now seemed like a curse. Some of it got in her mouth, some of it in her eyes. It was really difficult for her to look intimidating while she was busy trying to get her hair to calm down.

Harry was very close to her now, but she paid him no attention as she ran her hands over her eyes, trying to tuck the loose hair behind her ears. The strong winds were no friends to her that afternoon. Whatever hair she had managed to control started to whip amok as soon as it left the bounds of her hands. With her vision effectively blocked and her hair in her mouth, she didn’t notice at all her friend who was speeding towards her.

Viscenya gave up on tucking her hair back and instead took desperate measures. She gathered all of it in both her hands and held it up as she would if she were making a ponytail. Just as she did that, she noticed Harry right in front of her. Her eyes widened dramatically just as Harry’s did behind his glasses. He skidded to a halt just an inch in front of her. He thought that the damage had been averted.

He was wrong.

His sudden presence made Viscenya take an unsteady step backwards, her foot landed on a stone which caused her to slip. Her hands instinctively faced the ground to sort of break her fall, but they weren’t enough. In mere seconds she fell harshly on the ground and landed painfully on her butt.

A loud hiss sounded from beside her and her blood went cold. _That was what a snake sounded like!_

She made to scramble and crawl away from the reptile but then another sound quite like the first one stopped her.

_It was Harry,_ Harry had hissed something.

Her eyebrows shot up as sweat from all the adrenaline dribbled down her neck. Her breathing was laboured and she was sure that she was being very loud. Had Harry being paying attention he would have been able to listen to her. But that’s the thing, he wasn’t paying attention.

It seemed as if his mind was focused solely on the snake beside her, which no longer seemed intent on attacking her. The snake had lifted a part of itself from the ground as if it was regarding Harry with a conversation. It was an average-sized snake with nothing much noticeable for features; a common garden kind.

It felt as if her heart was beating in her throat. She felt very thirsty and even more scared. The wind wasn’t as bad now since she was on the ground, so her hair was fairly tamable (not that it mattered anymore now, the deed had been done, ' _thanks Mother Nature'_ )

Finally, _finally_ , Harry hissed something to the snake, which Viscenya thought ended the conversation, for she felt the grass beside her shift ever so slightly and saw Harry nod lightly to himself. She still didn’t dare to move an inch lest the snake return and finish what it had started. She lay there frozen on the ground when Harry broke the silence, “… are you okay?” he asked in a small voice.

Viscenya nodded imperceptibly.

“You can get up,” he said with a small smile, “It won’t come back and bite you.”

She nodded again, as she held her hands up in the air, waiting for Harry to hold on to them and to lift her, she was _not_ going to touch anything near her in the grass for another three or four months now.

Harry took her hands into his and pulled at them lightly; Viscenya used that and lifted herself. She was now facing to face with Harry much like before.

“Tag, you’re it?” Harry asked with a lopsided grin as he bumped her on the arm.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Viscenya asked in a small voice.

Harry visibly blanched at her bluntness and also at the evident hurt in her voice, he gestured vaguely with his hand in nonchalance as he stammered out his excuse, “Oh, oh _that?_ T-That was nothing, nothing at all, I just thought I’d t- _try,_ you know? Since the snake was intent on biting you. It was just my luck that it understood, you know? A- and there really wasn’t anything else to it, you know?” 

He was scrambling and it showed.

“It’s not ' _nothing'!_ ” hissed Viscenya, she saw how Harry flinched, but the damage had already been done, “You can talk to _snakes!_ You… can… talk… to… snakes!” she said as she put her arms on his shoulders and shook them lightly as if trying to get her point across.

“Yeah, I know _that_.” muttered harry moodily.

Viscenya heard that “ Do you? Because if you did, you would realise that this kind of information isn’t something that you don’t tell others about. You can talk to snakes for Merlin’s sake!” she exclaimed by the end of her rant.

Harry lips quirked up and looked at Viscenya through his lashes, “For Merlin’s _snake_?” he asked with a grin.

“I might just hit you for that.”

* * *

They were now walking in circles around the garden, side by side. Well, Harry was walking; Viscenya was taking short leaps and jumps, not wanting to step on a snake accidentally. After the initial shock had worn off, she had been less peeved at Harry and was now rapidly firing off questions at her best friend.

“When’d you- ha!” she jumped from one patch of dead grass to another, “find out?” she finished her questioned as she steadied her breathing.

“Well, I didn’t even realise what I was doing until last year. I thought that it was normal, you know? Last year we went to this Zoo and while I was there by the Reptile House, a lady heard me talk to a snake.”

Viscenya gasped dramatically.

Harry nodded his head along, “Yeah- I know! That was my reaction! I thought that she could also understand snakes or understand whatever I was saying to it. But then she said that I shouldn’t hiss at the snakes because it sets them on edge or something, I _think_ she confused snakes for fish, _anyway-_ the point is that she didn’t understand what I said, but I realised that whatever I was saying was not in English. It was something else altogether. Since then, I’ve been super aware of whenever I’d talk to _them_.” He ended in a whisper.

“Have you told your parents?” she asked unabashedly.

Even though they were way out in the gardens, Harry still shushed her and looked around to see if anyone was listening in, “No I haven’t, and don’t _you_ go telling them! They won’t understand.”

Viscenya donned her dramatically shocked look once again, “First of all, I’m offended that you could even think that I’d tell on you, second; why do you think they won’t understand? I mean if I can, though to be fair I _am_ smarter than the average kid, then why can’t two adults? It’s their job _to_ understand.”

Harry didn’t say anything and kept his gaze down, occasionally kicking a rock off his path.

Viscenya put her arm at his elbow to make him face her, “Harry, I get it if you’re not comfortable telling them about this now, but you’ll _have_ to tell them at some point. It’s not just some everyday thing that happens to people, talking to snakes is hardcore, and we don’t know what it means yet, though I’m sure aunt Lily does, it’s best if they know Harry.”

The speckled boy finally looked up at her, straight into her eyes. When he saw nothing but genuine concern in the grey irises, he relented.

“ _Fine_... I guess.” He said with a sigh. “But not yet!” he exclaimed with a raised finger, “You know already, and that’s more than enough.”

Viscenya smiled at that and took his finger in her grasp, soon she was swinging their hands back and forth, “That’s all I asked.”

Suddenly, Harry wrenched his hand from her grasp, ignoring her shouts of protest and ran in the opposite direction.

When Viscenya didn’t follow (for she was confused beyond limits) he turned back around for a split second and bellowed out, “TAG, YOU’RE IT!”

Viscenya groaned but starting building up speed nonetheless, shaking her head in disappointment all the while.

Once she was close enough, she yelled at Harry’s figure, “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO ACTUALLY TAG ME, YOU IDIOT! YOU CAN’T JUST RUN AND EXPECT ME TO FOLLOW, DIV!”

Harry said nothing but turned around grinned that cheeky smile of his, before running off again.


	2. Snape, Snape, Severus snape.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we saw the sorting from Viscenya's perspective, here's a perspective you didn't think you'd see in this story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, people who still follow this story!
> 
> Again, sorry for the late update, but this time in my defence, it wasn't because of me. Well, I planned on posting this on Christmas as a gift to followers, but idk what happened; the chapter wouldn't go up. Anyway, here's the chapter, there's going to be some flashbacks in it so hopefully it's not confusing.
> 
> and yes, this chapter is in Snape's POV. This is actually a major stepping stone for a sub-plot in the story that I'm very excited to follow!!

**_“SLYTHERIN!"_ **

****

* * *

He had met the Potter boy before on a few occasions, only when Lily forced him to come by her house. And he saw more and more of James in him as the years passed by. Occasionally, the boy would be accompanied by Black’s spawn, and together they’d run amok in gleeful abandon; it made Severus sneer.

When the first years had entered the hall, Severus had seen the grins that the two devils were wearing on their faces, already plotting mischief, already dreaming of wreaking havoc on the school and its unsuspecting students; it made Severus think of their fathers.

(He also saw the tender smiles that the two had shared as they marvelled over the enchanted ceiling; it made him think of his own self and of a past that had run its course long ago)

He tried to move his gaze around a bit, and he succeeded, but not for long. Ultimately, his eyes would go back to the two children who had shifted somewhat closer to each other during the course of the Sorting Hat’s song. As every second passed he was reminded of a similar memory from his own time as a young student, standing right where _they_ were now. 

The first few children passed by in a blur, Severus clapped when it was necessary, and he kept his gaze successfully away from the crowd of first years. It was only when he heard McGonagall shout out “BLACK, VISCENYA!” that he snapped his gaze back to the ceremony.

He saw the girl share a meaningful look with the boy, and he saw how the brat nodded his head in encouragement and happiness at the girl, willing her to go on and to not be shy. He ignored the unpleasant coil in his stomach at the scene.

* * *

_“SNAPE, SEVERUS” McGonagall called out, and the lanky boy turned his dull eyes towards the teacher, tearing his gaze away from the red-headed girl currently sitting on the Gryffindor table._

_On hearing his name being called out, the girl snapped her eyes to his figure. Lily Evans made eye contact with him and smiled encouragingly. The boy returned the smile with half the enthusiasm than that of the girl’s._

_Lily gestured towards the stool where the hat was placed, silently urging her friend to go on. Young Severus Snape moved one foot forward and then the next until he reached the bottom of the small flight of stairs._

* * *

The girl walked up the small steps and placed herself on the stool. McGonagall, promptly put the hat over her head, effectively blocking the girl’s eye contact with the boy, yet the boy kept his gaze fixed on her (much like how his mother had been, when she was his age, for someone she was best friends with)

* * *

_Severus knew that he wouldn’t get into Gryffindor. Even so, he couldn’t deny that a part of him hoped that the hat would sort him into the house Lily had gone to. Of course, ideally, Lily and he would have gone to the same house; Slytherin. He didn’t know what went wrong with his friend._

_He was sure that she’d make a great Slytherin; she was smart, resourceful and probably the only person who didn’t make him want to pull his hair out. Yet, she had been sorted into Gryffindor, the same house that the stupid boy from the train had been bragging about._

_The anxiousness that the sorting brought was quickly overpowered by the dread that he felt at the thought of the boy and Lily in the same house._

_But the house difference couldn’t really matter, right? He and Lily had overcome their share of obstacles before. Albeit, Lily’s horrid, horse of a sister wasn’t really an ‘obstacle’ more so a nuisance, but still, even if he was sorted in Slytherin, he knew that Lily wouldn’t end the friendship, she wasn’t that kind of a person; she was... good._

_It had been surprisingly quiet after the hat had been put over his head, just as he was about to ask someone about it, he heard the hat yell-_

* * *

“ **SLYTHERIN!** ”

Severus Snape snapped his eyes to where the noise had come from, effectively bringing him out of his trance. The Slytherin table was clapping, McGonagall had lifted the hat from the girl’s head, and although he couldn’t see her face, he knew that she was shocked. After all, he was shocked too; the spawn of Black, the one person who was as Gryffindor as they came had been sorted into Slytherin.

Oh, the irony! He could just imagine the look on Black’s face when he’d find out that his _darling_ daughter had been sorted into a house that he despised so truly. He looked around the staff table, noticing the slight shock that most teacher’s who knew about Sirius Black wore.

Dumbledore, of course, was smiling serenely, but he was an old fool, his reactions were rarely ever normal.

Even McGonagall, ever the house unity enthusiast, was shocked, and for once, it showed on her face.

As he was looking around, he saw the Potter spawn, for once the boy wasn’t smirking obnoxiously or grinning like a maniac. He was, like the rest, well and truly stumped.

The girl got up on shaky legs and wobbled her way towards the Slytherin table in a trance. She reached the table and sat down when her leg hit the bench, his third-year student Leah Thompson pulled the girl down and made her sit properly. From what Severus could see, he made out that the girl too hadn’t expected this.

And at that realisation, he tore his gaze away from the girl and looked at the Potter boy. There was a look of disbelief on his face, mindless of the children or the clapping around the hall, his eyes remained fixated on Black.

It seemed that the boy was transfixed, a good time passed as he kept on looking at the girl, with no particular emotion passing through his face, he only stopped when the girl looked back at him and his friend told him something.

Black looked at the boy forlornly before she too dropped her gaze and didn’t look back.

* * *

_Severus sat down on the Slytherin table, people extended their hands towards him wanting to introduce him to the house, the Prefect Lucius Malfoy pointed out a few notable members of the house before formally welcoming him to the house. It was bittersweet, the entire thing. He was happy because he knew that for once, he was with like-minded people; if not ‘like-minded’ then at the very least people whom he could tolerate. On the other hand, the thought of not being in the same house as Lily nagged on his mind ever-present._

_He turned towards the Gryffindor table, wanting to see Lily’s reaction to the whole thing. He spotted the table and the girl, but the girl in question wasn’t even looking at him. She was talking to another girl, it was finally when that girl pointed towards him that Lily realised that he was looking at her._

_She gave Severus a small tentative smile which was promptly returned by the boy, they looked at each other for a while longer it was evident that they both wanted to talk, wanted to exchange their thoughts and feelings but it was the literal distance between them that made it impossible. Even at that moment, Severus could feel the insecurity bubbling in the pit of his stomach, but he was sure that they’d get through it. As he had thought before, he and Lily had been through worse, this won’t be a problem._

_He smiled at Lily again; this time a more hopeful one but before she could react she was pulled back into the conversation by the girl from before._

_He waited for Lily to look back, to acknowledge the silent conversation that was cut off in between, but she never did. A minute passed, another did until Severus gave up and turned back to the Slytherin table._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who got what I was trying to put across with this chapter, move on and comment already, this is not for you!
> 
> For those of you who didn't get it because of my novice attempts at symbolism and whatnot, don't worry, I'll lay it out for you!  
> Essentially, in this chapter we see Snape drawing parallels from his sorting to Viscenya's. I guess you could say that he sees himself in our protagonist to some extent. You know, because of the whole 'getting sorted into Slytherin while your best friend gets sorted into Gryffindor' thing. 
> 
> This, however, does not mean that Viscenya and Harry's relationship would be the same dumpster fire that Severus and Lily's was. Like I said in the opening notes, this is just a stepping stone for a sub-plot that I have planned out! 
> 
> Lemme know how you guys liked the chapter, comments and kudos are love :))


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